As Pitchfork noted, Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox took the stage with Divine Fits at Terminal West in Atlanta to cover The Ramones’ “53rd & 3rd.” The Oct. 29 show fell right in the middle of Sandy, so Cox appropriately dedicated the song to New Yorkers.
Divine Fits will also perform at a Thursday taping of Letterman; it’ll air on Friday night.
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Tagged Atlanta, Bradford Cox, Deerhunter, Divine Fits
If 2009 was the year of Larry Jon Wilson, 2010 was the year of Bill Fox and the Gibson Bros. I think I listened to Bill Fox’s two reissued albums — Shelter from the Smoke and Transit Byzantium — more than anything else. (Shelter got a deluxe vinyl reissue, and Scat promises a similar treatment for Transit in 2011.) Go get ’em. And working on a story about the Gibson Bros. reunion show back in July occupied my brainspace and held my interest for months. I don’t know if CDR has any copies of the Build a Raft reissue left, but if they do, it’s required listening for any Columbus music fan or anyone with a passing interest in twisted, noisy country/blues/rock.
But in terms of new stuff, here’s what I liked this year, starting with national releases and ending with Cowtown LPs.
1. Strand of Oaks – Pope Killdragon
I didn’t immediately hit repeat when I heard this album, but once I came back to it, I never stopped. Who knew a record with songs about John Belushi (from the perspective of Dan Akroyd), a 12-foot man and JFK could be so engrossing. Devastating, too. If you think Tim Showalter is just another pretty-voiced folkie, the layers of synth and Sabbath-like riffs on “Giant’s Despair” prove otherwise. The best way to get Killdragon digitally or on vinyl is through Strand of Oaks’ Kickstarter page.
2. The Black Keys – Brothers
Ditto Duffy.
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Posted in 2010 Favorites, Columbus, Review
Tagged Anais Mitchell, Andrew Graham, Bill Fox, black keys, Black Swans, Deathly FIghter, Deerhunter, earwig, Ghost Shirt, Gibson Bros, Hadestown, Jana Hunter, Justin Townes Earle, Kanye West, Kyle Sowashes, Local Natives, Lost in the Trees, Love Language, Lower Dens, Mavis Staples, Micah Schnabel, Mountain Man, mumford and sons, Nick Tolford, Patty Griffin, Sam Amidon, Shearwater, Spoon, Strand of Oaks, Sufjan Stevens, Sun Kil Moon, super desserts, surfer blood, Time and Temperature, Vampire Weekend
mp3: Atlas Sound – Walkabout (w/ Noah Lennox)
This will be my first time seeing Atlas Sound‘s Bradford Cox live, and I’m really looking forward to it, especially after giving Logos a few listens. I’d always paid more attention to Cox’s “main” band, Deerhunter, but this new one is a terrific headphone album of underwater bedroom pop, and so far “Walkabout” is my favorite track. …Nice to have Broadcast on the bill, too.
9 pm Sunday, Black Box on the Mershon Stage. $14.
MP3: New Wave Hippies
Psychedelic Horseshit frontman Matt Whitehurst is young Pac in the flesh. Doesn’t mean I like Pac or that Matt’s mom was a crackhead. I never even liked Tupac. But I like the idea of Tupac as in a public figure who will say anything in public and not give a fuck. And it meant something to him and other people. Obviously, they don’t sound anything like Pac, but you smell me playboy.
To me Psychedelic Horseshit’s new album “Magic Drone Flowers” (Stiltbreeze) sounds like when my mom told me to do chores on a Saturday afternoon while she was listening to her old records: a mixture of Bob Dylan and me running over rocks to break the lawn mower so I wouldn’t have to cut the grass again. Or putting a fork in the dishwasher so it would break. Or vacuuming up broken lightbulbs.
During my drunken interview with Matt we talked about the new album, fighting with Deerhunter, philosophy, protesting, and how the Black Lips live album was in fact recorded in the studio.
WF-My favorite song on the record is “New Wave Hippies”. Are you angry at those people or is it just an observation?
MW-It’s kind of an aggravated observation I guess. When I first wrote it, initially it was directed at a certain scene in America’s Underground. As I wrote it, it took on different meanings. “New Wave Hippies” doesn’t necessarily mean jam bands. It’s about people who have a voice in the media and they don’t use it for anything. They just talk about bullshit.
WF-I mean are you talking about “wilderness white”, like Animal Collective fans that are former ravers?
MW-It’s all of that really. It’s the new wave aspect of Hippies. It means the generation of hippies. Like Deerhunter and Animal Collective and shit. People that use electronics. It’s not just about music.
WF-You say something like they don’t protest. They hang out on little machines.
MW-They hang out on little screens. It’s about blogging. It’s not like the 60’s that shit isn’t going to happen. Everyone sits at home and talks about bullshit on a computer instead of getting out and saying things.
WF-Well on the split 7 inch you did with Times New Viking, you said “I am not a man. I have no soul. I don’t care about politics and things I can’t control.” Do you feel like you should be out doing something or do you think everything is bullshit?
MW-I don’t know. I guess I am stuck in between those things. That’s a good question. I should be out doing something. But everything is bullshit and I feel a sense of hopelessness in the world. It’s like if you don’t have an army to go out and fight with then its no question that you will get killed.
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Posted in Columbus, Interviews, MP3, Wes Flexner
Tagged Black Lips, Deerhunter, Psychedelic Horseshit, Stiltbreeze, Times New Viking
